Adelaide Helen Calvert (née Biddles; baptised 1836 – 20 September 1921) was a
British
British may refer to:
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* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
playwright and actress who achieved a 68-year career.
Life
Calvert was born as Adelaide Helen Biddles in
Loughborough
Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood (borough), Charnwood Borough of Leicestershire, England; it is the administrative centre of Charnwood Borough Council. At the United Kingdom 2021 census, the town's built-up area had a popula ...
and she appeared on stage as "child prodigy". She went to school but was recalled to acting by her parents. Her father was selling tobacco but he aspired to acting.
She and her sister, Clara, appeared in minor roles. They were friends with
Mary Braddon before her interest turned to writing novels. She and her Clara would be invited to tea on Sundays and another invitee was Charles Calvert.
In 1851 ''Amy Lawrence: a Tale of an Old Man's Love'' a play she had adapted from a book was performed with Adelaide as Amy Lawrence.
[ The play was performed at the ''Bower Saloon'' in Westminster which was managed by her father James Biddles.]Prince's Theatre
The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. It opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, with a capacity of 2,500. The current capacity is 1,416. The title "Shaftesbury Theatr ...
reviving Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
. Meanwhile, went on to continue her stage success in her own right as "Adelaide Calvert". They had eight children, of whom five (three sons and two daughters) followed their parents' profession, including Louis Calvert, their third son.[Richard Foulkes]
Calvert, Charles Alexander (1828–1879)
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008; accessed 8 May 2017.
Charles died in 1879 and it was said that 50,000 people watched his funeral. Adelaide was left with two daughters and five sons. In October Helen Faucit appeared as Rosalind in two benefit performances for Charles' family.[
Adelaide went off to the US with ]Edwin Booth
Edwin Thomas Booth (November 13, 1833 – June 7, 1893) was an American stage actor and theatrical manager who toured throughout the United States and the major capitals of Europe, performing Shakespearean plays. In 1869, he founded Booth's Th ...
in 1879 and she took various minor roles in the UK and the USA. Her career was revived when she took a part in George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...
's ''Arms and the Man
''Arms and the Man'' is a comedy by George Bernard Shaw, whose title comes from the opening words of Virgil's ''Aeneid'', in Latin:
''Arma virumque cano'' ("Of arms and the man I sing").
The play was first produced on 21 April 1894 at the Av ...
''. She worked steadily in better roles for the next fifteen years. She played the old woman in the 1911 British silent movie '' Henry III''.
Death
Calvert died in Barnes on 20 September 1921, after a career of 68 years.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calvert, Adelaide
British stage actresses
19th-century British actresses
20th-century British actresses
1836 births
1921 deaths
Date of birth unknown
Actors from Loughborough
Actresses from Leicestershire